


Ghost Friends

by whitedandelions



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitedandelions/pseuds/whitedandelions
Summary: Sometimes, it’s nice to have a friend who is a ghost.
Relationships: Ray Molina & Reggie
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Ghost Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pluche](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pluche/gifts).



> happy yuletide

Ray’s tired. He’s had a long day at work, his kids have eaten, and they’re doing homework and can probably get to bed by themselves. He has half of an idea that he should go check in on Carlos, but he’s so _tired_ and all he wants to do is watch TV and zone out and possibly fall asleep on the couch.

He yawns as he heads toward the TV, his eyes scanning for the remote and finding nothing. He pauses, frustration already creeping in as he starts to look underneath the couch cushions and in the cracks between, and he’s regretting buying the smart TV because it’s literally impossible to navigate without the remote. He’s about to give up and just possibly pass out on the couch when he hears something drop.

He whirls because he was nowhere near the other armchair, but the TV remote is on the floor next to it.

He remembers briefly about his son and ghosts and whatnot, and some part of him is a _little_ worried, but most of him is just rejoicing at having the remote found for him. So he picks it up, squints a little at the air above, and says “Thank you?”

When nothing is said back, he shrugs and settles down to watch some TV.

* * *

It’s another long day, and this time, he hadn’t even had time to watch any TV before bed. So he reads a short chapter of his book after he’s brushed his teeth and changed into his PJ’s, but his eyes are drooping far too much to keep reading. It’s warm in bed with the electric blanket so he’s extremely loathe to get up when he notices the light is still on.

“I really should get those smart lights that turn off when you ask them to,” he says out loud to himself, and a second later, the lights turn off.

He swears he feels chills down his back as he stares into the darkness at where the light switch was, but it passes momentarily as he realizes he doesn’t have to get up anymore. He wonders if he should say thank you again, but it feels a little silly when he can’t see anything, so instead he just aims a thumbs up at the ceiling and hopes the ghost can see in the dark.

So his son is probably right. Their house has a ghost. That afternoon, he goes to a board game shop and picks up that board game that lets you talk to ghosts.

He sets up the Ouija board in the living room at night again and waits anxiously. He feels a little bit like the side character in horror movies that’s attempting something kinda stupid, but he presses forward anyway as he starts the game.

Surprisingly, the game doesn’t work. He sits there for a long time, waiting for it to move, but instead of it moving, there’s the sound of a pen scratching. His heart nearly stops as he catches sight of the pen moving by itself, and he walks slowly over to read what it’s writing.

“Hi, I’m Reggie!” he reads out loud, and for some reason, it’s more endearing than scary. “Well, hi Reggie. My son is convinced you’re a ghost.”

_I am a ghost,_ Reggie writes back, _but not the scary kind, I promise_!

“I know,” he says, because Reggie isn’t. He’s not really scared right now even though he knows he probably should be. 

The conversation becomes a little more interesting after that. Reggie tells him everything, about his _daughter_ , about how they’ve helped her come out of her shell, how they’re actually that hologram band of hers – and he’s definitely going to have to grill his daughter on proper ghost relationships because dating one seemed like a supremely bad idea though in Luke’s defense it sounded like they were cute together – and so much more. 

In the end, he has to go to bed or else he wouldn’t be able to get up the next day. “See you same time tomorrow?” he asks, and he gets affirmation on the piece of paper that has now been turned over due to the sheer volume of writing in the front.

Reggie turns the lights off for him again and this time, he doesn’t hesitate to say thank you out loud.

* * *

It becomes the new normal.

It’s nice to have someone to unwind with after dinner with the kids, and Reggie and Ray get along quite well. 

Eventually, Julie confronts him about it, and they have a long conversation about everything. She opens up to him about her feelings and he reciprocates, and when they talk about her mom, they don’t break down as much as they used to. Conversation turns to her ghost band, and she tells him about the rest of the bandmates.

After that, they have dinner together. They’ve found that with the text to speech function on computers and tablets, it’s far too easy to have a conversation with the three of them and not feel as if he’s conversing with ghosts. They have to keep it from Carlos because he’s far too young to process friendly ghosts, but other than that, it’s not as weird as it seems.

Time passes, and Ray gets far too comfortable with thinking Reggie’s around whenever he’s unwinding from work. He asks Reggie to grab him the pepper when nothing happens. He’s not alarmed until the next day when Julie comes to him with tears in her eyes. 

They’re gone.

He knows it couldn’t have lasted forever. They’re ghosts; they’re meant to move on to the afterlife. In fact, Ray is old enough to realize he should be happy for them. They were good kids and they deserve to head to a better place.

But he misses Reggie. Most importantly, he misses seeing the spark in his daughter’s eyes as she tells him about Luke. But their presence had definitely helped them for the better and Julie only hesitates for a few seconds before she faces her fears and heads out on stage.

It’s a few months later when there’s a knock on the door. Julie goes to get it and her scream is what makes him run out to the door.

The three boys are back. Julie explains everything in tears, and Ray doesn’t even mind she’s sitting closer to Luke than any dad would be comfortable with. His little girl is happy, and it’s enough for him.

Reggie finds him after all that, when he’s in the kitchen preparing dinner for the boys and his daughter, and nothing needs to be really said. 

Reggie hands him the pepper when he asks for it, just like that time when he didn’t, and Ray can’t help the smile on his face as he finishes up dinner.

Reggie’s not a ghost anymore. He’s not handed the remote control when he can’t find it, and he ends up having to go to the store to buy the fancy lights that turn off with your voice rather than your hands. 

Still, Ray adopts Reggie and the boys. Julie’s glowing whenever he sees her, and Reggie sits with him on the couch after he comes home from work. Sometimes, the other boys and his kids join them, but most of the time, it’s just the two of them. Reggie can use his own voice now though, and that’s much nicer than relying on a pencil and paper.

Their friendship didn’t start normally and Ray knows it’ll be a long time before he can explain to Carlos that the boys used to be ghosts before. But ghost or not, Reggie is probably one of the best friends he’s ever had.


End file.
